Invasion of foreign fish species endangers ecological balance

The tiger grouper, a nonnative fish species artificially crossed by breeders and more commercially competitive than other giant groupers was recently discovered to have escaped from fish farms into the coastal waters of Taiwan, and sightings are becoming increasingly common.

In addition to the tiger grouper, the red drum fish imported from the US has also been released into the ocean off Taiwan's west coast. The red drum fish can grow to a large size and will attack other fish species. With an ability to breed naturally in Taiwanese waters, it threatens to infringe on the native ecology and will undoubtedly result in a reduction in the native fish population. Since many businesses sell live fish to the public for release into the wild, the best solution lies in strengthening public environmental education and knowledge in this area.

以下為中文對照

外來魚種強勢入侵 放生危害生態平衡

  龍虎石斑是由養殖業者人工雜交來的外來魚種，牠相較龍膽石斑更具商業競爭力，近期，發現原本應該待在養殖場魚塭內的龍虎石斑已被放生到台灣野海域當中，使得在許多海域都能見到龍虎石斑的身影。

  除了龍虎石斑，從美國引進的紅鼓魚也被放生在台灣的西部海域，紅鼓魚的體型能長到很大，牠會攻擊其他魚類，還會自然繁殖，侵害本土生態，造成原生魚種數量變少。由於目前有很多商家會專門販售活魚給民眾放生，因此，增加這部分的環境教育和知識普及才是最根本的解決之道。

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